Journey To Himself

Ari’s life was far from normal. His severe trust issues stemmed from being betrayed by people he thought were friends. Bad decisions influenced by wanting to leave without really being financially able to make it work. He’d not been able to get a job in the time since he moved back home. The few jobs he’d gotten never lasted long. For one reason or another. The one he currently had, as usual, didn’t give him the opportunity to save. The toxic living environment didn’t help. He lived in a town that never once loved him. A highly religious, bigoted, and close minded area. His dad, Constantine, was often uncomfortable with how Ari lived his life. Ari remembered things Ellie told him. It left him emboldened. To live his life happily despite what others may think or say. 

Ari was mostly out as a Trans Man. Constantine never came out and said how uncomfortable he was about Ari being Trans. He’d often deny even knowing. Despite the fact it was obvious he knew. Everyone saw how uncomfortable he was. Ari’s best friend was an openly Gay man. Constantine was often visibly uncomfortable when Ari talked about anything related to Gio and his relationships. Ari no longer cared. He knew Constantine was stuck in his ways. That he’d never accept him or Gio for who they are. Gio and Ari had come to terms with this. They also knew there’d likely be some kind of confrontational argument at some point because of Constantine's ignorance. 

Cyclical Depression had overtaken Ari’s mind. He’d contemplated suicide more than once. It’d been one thing after another for the last year. He’d lost his job because of the Restaurant closing down out of nowhere. He’d been unable to find one. Or keep one. Recent health issues plagued him. He somehow didn’t qualify for Disability or Medicaid. The Government didn’t see him as sick enough even though he was obviously sick and no longer able to work. He’d applied everywhere he could. To no avail most of the time. Until he found another Dishwashing job near his house. He didn’t mind the early mornings. He had most of the day after the Cafe closed in early afternoons. Any hope he had dwindled though. He didn’t have any hope of ever being able to leave. Prices of everything kept going up that prevented him from being able to save anything. 

Ari was left homeless after a heated argument with Constantine. He’d made unacceptable comments about random things he’d recently seen. Ignorant comments that had no business seeing the light of day. Ari didn’t care that he was homeless. He knew it was a matter of time before something happened. A bad feeling left him thinking it was going to happen soon. A gut feeling that proved true when the argument happened. Constantine got a significant amount of money out of his savings, gave it to Ari and told him to get out. Ari quit his job and left a few days later. 

Ari spent the next six months in Miami Beach. He found a job in what ended up being a short term Dishwashing job. The Dishwasher before him was taking time off due to personal issues. Ari didn’t mind. He was planning to move to New York City in the next six months anyway. He’d become dead set on breaking generational curses within his family. He’d gone no contact with relatives from the town he’d grown up in after their actions spoke for them. They’d not once reached out or even helped the majority of his life. The last few years especially. 

Seven months had passed since he started his job in Miami Beach. He was spending month seven taking some time to himself. Ben had come back from his time off. Ari had been offered a permanent position there because of how much the Cafe loved him. He declined citing his plans to move to New York. That he was going to take some time to himself before doing so. A decision they respected. And admired. He’d come to terms with everything that happened in the last two years. New York offered him new beginnings. He’d been an openly Trans Man since his arrival to Miami Beach. He had hope for his life again. Depression lingered in the background. Ari didn’t let it affect him as much as it used to. It no longer dictated his life.